Douglas County adjusting budget as revenues fall short

Revenues that support Douglas County government are down this year and adjustments will have to be made to the 2009 budget, County Administrator Craig Weinaug said.

“Revenues do not look good for 2009. I’m preparing recommendations to not fund part of the budget,” Weinaug told county commissioners on Monday.

That could mean not filling employee vacancies and departments spending less than they are already budgeted for, he said.

Revenue is down because of declining property valuations, sales and mortgage taxes.

At the same time fuel costs have decreased from July levels when the 2009 budget was planned.

“We’ll have savings in that area,” Weinaug said.

Commissioners, however, approved going ahead with a planned 1 percent raise for county employees for 2009. Information provided by Assistant County Administrator Pam Madl showed that the national consumer price index increased by 3.7 percent in October 2008 compared with the same month in 2007. In the Kansas City metropolitan area it increased 4 percent from the first half of 2007 to the first half of 2008. Regional information for the second half of 2008 is not yet available.